


Where We Fell

by Lize



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU, Fluff, M/M, University AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-05
Updated: 2014-07-26
Packaged: 2018-02-07 13:47:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1901331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lize/pseuds/Lize
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis is failing his bachelor degree... badly... so when his friends suggest that getting in the pants of his professor's reclusive son might be the solution, well, anything's worth a shot. Besides, the boy is rather cute...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a fic I started last November for NaNo but I ended up getting caught up and couldn't continue it. I've just rediscovered it now and I had the whole thing planned out so I think I'm going to finish it! Let me know what you think of the first chapter :)
> 
> Rating may change depending on how graphic we get later on ;)

"Dear Mr. Tomlinson,

I am writing to inform you that, due to your performance on the Semester 1 examinations, you may wish to reconsider your study habits. As the percentage score required to pass Semester 2 is significantly higher than Semester 1, your current standard of work would not be sufficient and would prevent you from passing the unit and progressing to your second year of study.

I sincerely hope you take this into consideration in your plans for the weeks to come.

Yours Sincerely,

Dr. Anne Cox

Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Education."

Louis glanced up from the piece of paper in his hands to gauge his friends' reactions, his mouth quickly forming into a smirk. Stan was grinning right back at him across the cafeteria table, a laugh escaping his lips.

"Wow Lou you've really done it this time. I've never even heard of Dr Cox writing to someone before, just to tell them they're shit." He paused before adding, "No offence." Hannah reached over to hit him in the arm.

"He's not shit you dickhead he just doesn't take it too seriously."

"Well what are you going to do Louis? Repeat?"

"Nah, mum won't let me. I guess I'll probably just drop it and get a job."

Louis tried not to think of how disappointed he would be with himself if that was the case. Ever since his first year at High School, he had known what he wanted to do. Teaching drama, music and perhaps some literature felt like his calling. He would often sit in class and imagine the way he would teach the same topic, the ways he would keep the students interested and even the homework he would assign.

When his final results were just good enough to receive an offer at Eastwell University, he was sure that this was it, he would finally get to do what he always wanted. Unfortunately, Louis hadn't anticipated the difficulty of his course. Surely there wasn't so much involved in simply teaching young children! After struggling his way through the first few essays Louis all but gave up on his course, focusing instead on the other aspects of uni life: making friends, partying and drinking like your life depended on it. His mother had made it very clear that they barely had the income to support his three year course, and he knew that extending it for another year just wasn't an option. Besides, if he wasn't good enough to pass this year, why would he think that would change next year.

"Shit Lou. I never thought you'd be the first of us to drop out. I would have put my money on Hannah for sure."

"Excuse you!" Hannah retorted, "Just because you barely even need to show up to your lectures to pass your half-assed course."

"Film and TV Studies is not 'half-assed'. Where do you think society would be without great scholars like myself to create the Kardashians of the future."

Grateful for the change in topic, Louis let himself zone out of his friends' bickering and glance around the large wooden hall that acted as a sort of common room for the students at Eastwell University. Being the first day of semester the cafeteria was buzzing with called out greetings and what-we-did-for-the-break conversations. He recognised many of the faces from the first semester as well as identifying a few newbies amongst the crowd. Just as Louis was about to turn his attention back to his friends, who now appeared to be settling things with an arm-wrestle, a solitary mop of brown curls caught his eye.

The owner of the curls glanced up at that moment, probably as a result of the commotion Stan and Hannah were causing, and looked startled when he caught Louis' gaze. He immediately ducked his head but not before Louis noticed that not only did he have some of the nicest hair Louis' ever seen, but his face was kind of perfect. It's all he can do to prevent himself from walking straight over there to take a closer look at those round green eyes, red lips and pale skin that was now slightly flushed as he went back to reading his book.

"Who's that?" He doesn't look away from the boy as he pokes Stan to get his attention.

"Huh?"

"That boy over there, sitting in the corner."

"Oh, you mean Harry?"

"Harry?" He liked that name. It suited the boy with the curls.

"Yeah. I'm surprised you haven't heard of him actually. After all he is your professor's son, although he does tend to keep to himself. Bit of a weirdo if you ask me."  
Louis was still caught up on Stan's first piece of information.

"Son? That's Dr Cox's son?" Stan just rolled his eyes and nodded. "Harry Cox eh?" He was smirking again, thinking of all the beautiful innuendoes that come with a name like that.

"Nah mate, Harry Styles. Kept his dad's name when his parents split."

Harry Styles sounded like a rock star...or a porn star. "How do you even know all this?"

Stan shrugged. "People talk."

Louis glanced over at Hannah, hoping more information. "Don't look at me. I don't know who the creeper talks to when he's not with us." Louis looked back over to the table where the boy, Harry Styles, had been sitting, but was disappointed to see he was nowhere in sight.

"Poor lad," Stan began solemnly, "I bet he's never had a lay in his life."

Hannah snorted. "You could fix that for him couldn't you Lou?" Louis just laughed and pretended as though the idea hadn't been playing on his mind ever since the 'Cox' incident.

"You know what?" Stan looked thoughtful as he picked up Louis' letter which was still lying, long-forgotten, on the table. "I bet if you did get in Styles' pants he could get his mum off your back."

Hannah began nodding enthusiastically as Louis slowly shook his head "Nope. No way."

"Oh come on Louis!"

"No I'm not using sex to get better marks."

"It's not 'using sex', you're just evening out the playing field a little. It's obvious that Dr. Cox has it in for you."

"You said he's a virgin!"

"So you'd be doing him a favour as well."

Louis paused. He would never admit just how much the idea was growing on him. Just the thought of running his hands through those curls after getting them all sweaty was enough to make him shift in his seat.

"Leave him alone Stan. It's obvious he doesn't think he could get it." Hannah was the one smirking now, raising an eyebrow at Louis like a challenge, and Louis really wished he could say no to a challenge.

"Of course I could get it. I'm Louis Fucking Tomlinson. I'll have him on his knees by the end of the month." Hannah let out a cheer while Stan patted him on the back with a "That's my boy!" and Louis couldn't help but feel a little bit excited. Besides, this should be easy. It seemed as though the kid didn't really have many friends, probably didn't have much experience with flirting, so that's where he'd start. Making friends and flirting. Easy.

Louis stood up and stuffed the folded letter in his pocket but before he could move away from the table Hannah grabbed his arm. "Hey! Where do you think you're going? I thought you had the whole day off."

"I thought you wanted me to go after Styles?"

"Oh." A smile quickly replaced the confused look on Hannah's face. "Well in that case, off you trot!" She shooed Louis away from their table.

"Try not to scare the poor boy!" Stan called after him and he glanced back in time to catch him and Hannah bumping fists. Shaking his head, Louis walked into the corridor, before stopping dead in his tracks when he realised he had no idea where Harry might be. In the end he just took off towards the quadrangle hoping that, if he was lucky, he'd bump into the boy sooner or later.

Unfortunately it seemed luck was not on Louis' side this afternoon and after an hour of searching high and low he had resigned himself to the fact that Harry was nowhere to be found. He pulled out his phone to text Stan as he was making his way back towards the cafeteria, intending to inform him of the bad news, but before he had time to press send he was knocked flat as he crashed headlong into a very solid human.

A low voice above him immediately let out a gasp. "Oh my god I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking and I-. Sorry! Are you alright? I'm so sorry."

Louis was about to tell the voice to shut up he was fine, but when he looked up the words got caught in his mouth as looming over him, seemingly caught between wanting to help Louis up and wanting to run away and hide, was none other than Harry Styles. Apparently his chivalry won out over his embarrassment and he bent down, nervously offering his hand to the boy on the floor. Louis accepted it gratefully, still feeling a little shocked at this unexpected turn of events, and allowed Harry to drag him to his feet.

When he looked up at Harry it dawned on him that although they were both now standing, Harry was still significantly taller than him, and the hand, still holding his own, was huge! He tried not to imagine how that hand would feel wrapped around his dick and instead focused on how Harry's eyes were even prettier up close. He didn't realise he was staring until he view of green was impaired by curls as Harry looked down at the floor, releasing Louis' hand from his. Suddenly remembering why they were in this position in the first place, Louis took a step back and smoothed out his clothes. This seemed to prompt Harry to return to apologising but Louis was quick to cut him off.

"No it's fine, I'm fine. It was my fault anyway. I should've been paying attention to walking instead of my phone."

It was Louis' turn to look to the floor as he looked for the afore mentioned phone that was no longer in his hand. He spotted it lying near his feet among a few books that Harry must have been carrying. Quickly bending down to shove the phone in his pocket and pick up Harry's books, he nearly laughed at how clichéd the whole situation was.

Harry mumbled a quick thanks and glanced back up to Louis' face, turning slightly as though he wanted to leave but wasn't sure how. Louis frowned at how uncomfortable Harry was, resolving to amend it as quickly as possible.

"I'm Louis by the way."

"I know." Harry immediately looked like he desperately wanted to take the words back, blushing a deep red and wow, Louis really liked that colour on him. "I mean, everyone knows Louis Tomlinson," he stammered, and Louis couldn't argue with that. Even within the older third year students Louis was well known as a fun guy, a party animal. "I'm Harry."

"Oh I know who you are Mr Styles." Harry looked taken aback at the use of his surname but Louis continued. "Didn't you hear? Louis Tomlinson knows everybody." He threw Harry a wink and the ever present blush seemed to become even darker, but this time his lips quirked up at the corner of his mouth, and Louis took this as encouragement, smiling broadly at Harry.

Remembering his original motivation in seeking Harry out in the first place, Louis desperately tried to think of a way to prevent Harry from leaving.

"So where were you heading before some idiot crashed into you anyway?"

"Oh, um, I was just, uh, going back to my room."

"So you live on res then?"

"Yeah."

"Excellent! So do I." Harry looked like he was about to say 'I know' again but quickly caught himself, simply nodding at Louis. "Well," Louis took the books out of Harry's arms, "let's go then!" He started moving in the direction of the residential halls but looked back when he noticed Harry was still standing in the middle of the path.

"I thought you were, you know, that way." Harry gestured behind him in the direction Louis had been heading.

"Oh, yeah... no. I was just looking for my friends but they've probably left by now anyway. You coming?"

Harry nodded quickly and started after Louis who waited until he caught up before once more heading off.

The walk to the halls took them passed the science building and library, and through the Eastwell sporting complex. About halfway across the football field Louis realised that the conversation had been entirely one-sided and he knew nothing about Harry aside from what Stan had told him, so he stopped talking about himself and began asking questions. The first few questions got him fairly basic responses. He learnt that Harry has a room on the top floor of Westendorf Hall, just around the corner from his mother's room and office. Anne was currently looking for an apartment in the city that they could move into at the end of the year. Harry's eyebrows furrowed slightly when he talked about moving and Louis filed that away for further consideration.

He also learnt that Harry was studying a Bachelor of Physiotherapy and that he only had turned 18 earlier that year because he had started school a year early. Louis felt lucky that Harry didn't seem to be willing to ask questions of his own, and managed to carefully avoid mentioning that he was technically born three years before Harry, albeit right at the end of the year. Despite his lack of knowledge about the younger boy, Louis quickly realised that Harry was definitely an academic, so he figured hiding his own embarrassing record was for the best, at least for now.

Despite learning all these small pieces of information, it wasn't until Louis asked about Harry's taste in music that he felt as though he really began to engage in the conversation. He talked about a bunch of bands that Louis had never heard of and when Louis said as much he was quick to pull out his iPod and plugging in the earphones before hesitating, looking at Louis uncertainly. Louis sent him what he hoped was a reassuring smile and gently took one of the earphones out of his hand, pushing the bud into his ear. Harry put the other one in and began scrolling through his music as they continued walking.

He pressed play and locked the iPod "This is um, The 1975, the band that I said, uh-"

"They're your favourite band, right?" Harry nodded and his lips twitched up again. "Ever seen them live?"

"Oh. Uh, no, but I hear they're really good live."

Louis nodded and turned back towards their destination and let their shoulders bump together as they walked close enough to prevent the earphones being pulled out. Unfortunately for Louis that also meant he was hyper-aware of how close their hands were and made resisting reaching out and grabbing Harry's hand almost impossible. However he refrained, not wanting to scare Harry away, and forced his attention back to the music in his left ear.

"This is really good Harry. I'm very impressed." He tilted his head to face Harry as they approached the halls, but what he saw caused him to stop dead in his tracks, the earphone falling out of his ear and dangling by Harry's side. Harry turned and looked at him with confusion and no, that was no good at all, because the smile that had previously lit up the boy's face was meant to be there all the time. White teeth and dimples had knocked the breath clean out of him. Louis would never forget the first time he saw Harry smile, and made it his resolution right then to be the cause of that smile as often as possible.

"What's wrong?" the low voice broke him out of his reverie.

"Oh um..." Louis tried to think of something to say that wouldn't offend Harry. He decided on the truth, "You just have a nice smile, that's all."

Harry couldn't help but smile at that although he tried to stifle it, keeping his lips pressed together, but the newly discovered dimples were a give-away. Louis glanced around and sadly realised that they were right outside Westendorf Hall, Harry's residence.

He handed Harry back his books, 'accidentally' letting their fingers brush in the process.

"Well Harry, I guess I'll see you 'round, although I do hope it's sooner rather than later. It has become evident to me that my music collection might need a reboot." He sent Harry a second wink for the day and revelled in the fact that he was able to bring back that blush one more time before they had to part.

"Yeah Louis sounds good. I'll- this was really nice. Thank you."

"No, thank you Harry. The walk is disgustingly boring by myself."

Harry nodded in agreement then turned to leave. Remembering how difficult it had been to locate the boy in the first place, Louis made an abrupt decision and quickly asked Harry to wait.

"Uh, do you think I could have your number?" he blurted out, and suddenly Louis was the one blushing as his pulled his phone out of his pocket and toyed with it nervously. Harry looked flawed by the request and of course Louis was being stupid. They'd barely known each other forty minutes! Then a broad grin stretched over Harry's face and he reached out to take Louis' phone from his hand. He tapped in a number then handed it back to Louis who saved it simply under 'Harry' then sent a text to the new contact, just a smiley face. He heard the quiet ding as Harry's phone received the message.

"Now you've got my number too, plus I know you didn't give me some dodgy fake."

Harry laughed under his breath. "Thanks"

"No problem. You're allowed to leave now." Harry laughed again and waved to Louis over his shoulder as he walked towards the hall. "Bye Lou!"

"See you Haz!"

Louis watched him leave until the door had swung closed behind him, finally letting out a sigh and heading off in the direction of Arnott Hall, his own residence. He couldn't believe that earlier he'd said this would be easy. Easy is the last word he'd use to describe the situation now. The only thing that was easy was the way he was becoming infatuated with Harry Styles, the beautiful eighteen year old who was so incapable of making other people feel bad that he second-guessed his every movement, worried about the consequences.

Harry Styles, who was surely 6 feet tall and could hold both of Louis' hands in one of his own.

Harry Styles, with his curly hair, dimples, and gorgeous green eyes.

Louis was screwed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: [iliketoship](http://iliketoship.tumblr.com)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis is failing his bachelor degree... badly... so when his friends suggest that getting in the pants of his professor's reclusive son might be the solution, well, anything's worth a shot. Besides, the boy is rather cute...

When his alarm went off the next morning the first thing Louis did was check his phone, not that he expected to find anything. Harry didn't really seem like the kind of guy to make the first move, although it was Louis that asked for his number so maybe it was Harry's turn. Nevertheless, he found himself feeling just a little bit disappointed when the only notifications were a couple of snapchats from Stan and a text from Hannah asking about his plans for the day.

The previous night had been spent lying in his bed thoughtfully typing out messages to Harry, holding his finger over the send button, then quickly deleting the whole thing. Louis didn't know why it was such a big deal for him. Usually if he was interested in someone he'd be fairly blunt about it, a few flirty texts and he was in, but this time was different. He couldn't stop worrying about saying something a little too cheeky, or a little too sincere, and scaring him off. 

So Louis let it be, promising himself that if he still hadn't heard anything he'd send something tonight. That seemed far less desperate anyway. Although, he couldn't stop himself from secretly hoping he'd bump into Harry again today, maybe not quite so literally this time.

The first official classes for Semester 2 began today and Louis had a lecture at 9am, followed by a tutorial at 11. Not wanting to be late on the first day back, (not that it would matter, he thought, it's not like his grades could get worse) Louis quickly grabbed out some sweatpants and a hoodie, before thinking better of it and switching them for skinny jeans and a sweater. If he did run into Harry he planned to make some kind of impression, and with that in mind he spent a little more time than strictly necessary fluffing his hair up and trying to make it look like it had just naturally fallen into a perfect array.

After rushing his way through a bowl of cereal in the shared student kitchen he grabbed his books and phone and headed off in the direction of the uni. 

The lecture was a disaster. Dr Cox hadn't been kidding when she said that second semester kicked it up a notch. Their lecturer for the day was Mr Tunell and Louis was sure that he should understand what he was trying to teach them but he just couldn't seem to follow the sudden leaps that the man was making. He kept referring to things that apparently they'd already learnt but Louis couldn't for the life of him remember what they were and by the end of the class he'd given trying to take coherent notes and was just doodling aimlessly across his notebook (and maybe if he'd written LT + HS in a heart like a twelve year old girl, nobody had to know).

By the time he was sitting in the cafeteria with his lunch in front of him, he was feeling utterly defeated. He didn't realise he was glaring at his salad roll until Stan plopped down beside him and asked, "What mean thing did the lettuce say this time?" Louis just rolled his eyes and picked up the offending roll, taking a huge bite and chewing loudly.

"Seriously though mate, you good?"

Louis screwed up his face and smiled at Stan, making sure to give him a great view of the semi-digested bread that was still in his mouth. 

"Never better."

"Well good then because I have some exciting news." Stan's idea of 'exciting news' usually meant some kind of illegal activity they could get involved in, but Louis cautiously gestured for him to continue. 

"So you know Bekki Fenster right?" 

Everybody knew Bekki Fenster. She was a second year graphic design student and one of those girls that just looked good no matter what they wore. One time she showed up to Eastwell wearing black shorts, red tights, yellow gumboots and a green tartan blazer, and still managed to have a majority of the guys and some of the girls drooling after her as she made her way to class. At the start of the year her lawyer parents had bought her a house in one of the nearby suburbs. Louis was pretty sure she's the only university student ever to own an entire house.

"Well apparently she's have a huge party in a couple of weeks, her 21st or something. The whole uni's invited as well as a bunch of her art friends from Valencia." Valencia College was a private visual art school that often collaborated with Eastwell for art shows and exhibits. To be honest Louis had no idea why Bekki didn't go there herself. 

"So you up for it Lou? It's gonna be sick!"

No matter how bad Louis' mood was, he was always in the mood for a party, in fact, getting shitfaced sounded like the perfect way to improve his mood, even if it was only for one night. 

"Yeah of course! Have you asked Hannah yet?" He's pretty sure that Stan answered his question but Louis was suddenly distracted when he spotted green eyes watching him from across the room. He lifted a hand to wave at Harry and was pleased when he received a shy wave and smile in response. A cough beside him brought his attention back to Stan who was eyeing him curiously. 

"So I take it you've made some progress with Styles then?"

"Um yeah actually. I ran into him yesterday and got his number.

"Did you get a free blow job with that number or...?

"No you twat. I may be Louis Tomlinson but I'm not a miracle worker. Give me time though, I'll get there." He avoided mentioning the part where Harry gave him butterflies in his stomach and made him think that maybe he wanted more than just a hook up.

"I have faith in you Lou. Don't let me down!" Stan sent him a wink before getting up and heading off, presumable to find Hannah.

Louis turned back to his food, letting out a groan when he noticed the half-eaten roll and remembered why he'd been miserable in the first place. 

"Are you okay?"

Louis nearly fell out of his chair at the sound of that unmistakable soft voice behind him.

"Um yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure?" Harry slid into the seat next to him looking at him questioningly, and Louis' heart clenched at the genuine concern in his eyes.

"Yeah, you know. Just... uni's a bitch." He laughed half-heartedly and took a sip of his coke, peeking up to see Harry's reaction. He expected that he'd just drop it, the way the other guys always did, but Harry just furrowed his brow and asked, "What do you mean?"

Louis looked at Harry, trying to judge how he should respond. He desperately didn't want Harry to find out that he was hanging out with an idiot, and even more so, he didn't want to become one of those people who sat around complaining about their lives. Nobody enjoys hanging out with those people and Louis really wanted Harry to enjoy spending time with him. 

Despite this, the way Harry looked at him seemed like he almost wouldn't mind Louis venting about his problems, and even though he'd only known him a day, Louis knew Harry didn't deserve to be lied to, so he decided on a sort of middle ground.

"I guess I'm just a bit stressed out with my course, that's all. I'll get over it." Harry lifted his hand, seemingly to place it on Louis' back, then apparently thought better of it and brought it back to his lap. Louis really wished he hadn't.

"It'll be fine. Everybody feels a little overwhelmed sometimes. I'm sure you'll come good in the end." Harry gave him a little smile and Louis couldn't help but return it. He knew that Harry didn't really know him, and that his faith was misplaced, but it still felt nice to have it. Plus Louis is pretty sure that the most words Harry has ever spoken to him. "But," Harry said seriously, and Louis wondered where he was going with this, "You don't have to 'get over it'. You're allowed to be upset. And, if, you know." He started to get embarrassed again as he stuttered out the last few words, "If you want to, um, talk, you can?" The way he said it was like a question and Louis hated the way he was second-guessing himself even when he was saying what was pretty close to exactly what Louis needed to hear. 

Unable to think of a way to thank Harry without giving anything away, Louis completely disregarded the fact that they'd only known each other a day and reached over to pull Harry into a hug. He felt the younger boy immediately stiffen in his arms, but he loosened gently when Louis whispered a soft "thanks" into his shoulder, winding his arms around Louis' waist and giving him a light squeeze.

Not wanting to push his luck, and also wary of the large audience that was present, Louis pulled away much earlier than he would have liked, sitting back in his chair and observing the redness in Harry's cheeks that he didn't realise he had missed. Although, he did love how much more comfortable Harry seemed talking to him today. Just thinking about the difference between this and his conversation with Harry yesterday made his smile even wider, the morning's lecture all but forgotten. 

Harry smiled back at him for a moment before a look of realisation cross his face, he quickly reached into his pocket and pull out a black CD case.

"I nearly forgot. Um, I was hoping to see you today to give you this."

He held the CD out to Louis who glanced at the cover then took it in his hands, beaming.

"The 1975! Aw thanks Haz. I'll copy it tonight and give it back tomorrow." 

Harry shook his head. "No that one's for you, I mean, if you want it."

"I'd love it Harry, but I can't take your favourite CD."

"It's not mine, I got it for you." The last part was said in almost a whisper as he looked down at his feet. Then he glanced back up, grinning at Louis. "So that means you have to take it, otherwise I'll have two copies."

"You could return it."

"Nope, I threw out the receipt." 

Louis gave a dramatic sigh and threw his hands in the air. "Well I guess there's nothing we can do. I'll just have to take it then." Harry giggled and Louis was pretty sure it's the most adorable sound he's ever heard. Glancing down at his watch Louis realised that it was only five minutes until his tutorial starts.

"Shit! Listen Harry, I've gotta go, but thank you, really, for the CD and everything else. I'll text you later?"

Harry gave a nod. "Yeah, sounds great."

Louis began to move away but stopped when Harry spoke again.

"And Louis," he peered over his shoulder expectantly, "you're welcome."

For what seemed like the hundredth time in the last half an hour a broad grin stretched across Louis face and he didn't stop smiling the whole way to class. Even the tutorial didn't seem so bad when he could almost still feel the imprint of Harry against his chest. 

When he arrived back at his room that evening he only hesitated long enough to put the new CD in his laptop before grabbing out his phone and sending a text to Harry. He had promised after all.

'its later :)'

He sat the phone down on the bed side table, grabbing his notes out from that morning, newly determined to make at least some sense of them after the afternoon's slightly more successful class. 

He had expected to have to wait a while for Harry's response, getting himself comfortable on his single bed, but was surprised when barely a minute later his phone buzzed on the table. 

'Brilliant observation. You should be studying to be a scientist' 

Louis chuckled as he read the reply, then quickly typed back,

'you wound me with your sarcasm. im never complimenting your good music ever again'

There was a long pause and Louis thought maybe he wasn't going to get a reply until,

'You just did ;)'

Louis could almost picture Harry stressing about adding the winky face, and the thought made him exceptionally please that he had. 

'well damn. i guess ill just have to tell you that im listening to your blasted cd right now and i definitely dont hate it ;)'

It was true. The music was just indie enough for Louis to feel a little bit cooler every second he listened to it, without completely throwing him in the deep end of complicated rhythms and lyrics. The response was much quicker this time and Louis allowed himself a little bit of credit for that fact. 

'It's not my CD, it's yours, but I'm glad you like it :)'

Louis always hated people who wasted precious characters by using proper grammar and punctuation when texting, but with Harry it just seemed endearing.

'i plan to pay you for it you know'

'You can't. It's a gift.'

Suddenly, a thought struck Louis' mind.

'well ill just have to get you something in return'

He was already thinking about what kind of present he could get Harry that would mean 'friendship' without being 'just friends', because that's definitely not what he wanted.

'You don't have to get me anything.'

'i want to'

'You don't have to'

'i want to'

There was a pause again and Louis began to stress that perhaps he was being too forceful. Maybe Harry was genuinely uncomfortable with the idea of Louis buying him something. Maybe he had some kind of present-phobia. It dawned on Louis that even though it felt like much longer, he'd only known Harry two days and to be honest, he didn't know that much about him. 

He threw the phone onto the cover in despair, before picking it back up again to make an attempt as some kind of reconciliatory message, but before he could the phone buzzed again. He breathed a sigh of relief when he read the message.

'Okay :)'

Louis decided he really needed to stop getting himself so worked up. He never used to be like this, but then again  he'd never really texted anyone with the intention of getting to know them. It was always one night stands and quick flings. Sure he'd had boyfriends, even a few girlfriends back in the day, but it had always been with the mutual understanding that it was just for fun. More of a 'something to do' than anything else.

Louis didn't even know if Harry liked boys that way, but if it was up to him, he would take Harry out on romantic dates, go to the cinema, have a candle-lit dinner, kiss him under the stars, all of that cliché movie crap. It kind of scared him shitless how much he wanted those things. 

Realising he'd never replied to Harry's message, Louis looked at his phone a moment before tapping out,

'So how was your afternoon?'

The two continued to chat back and forth for the next hour. Harry talked about his course and Louis told a story about the time Hannah pulled down his trousers in the middle of the quadrangle, revealing his superman boxers to the whole campus. After he received a whole page of 'hahaha's in response he kind of wished he'd saved that story for later so he could have witnessed that laugh in person.

Eventually Harry apologised and told Louis he had to go and eat tea with his mum.

'yeah no worries :) ill see you tomorrow?' 

'I hope so :)'

Louis smiled at that, thinking that maybe Harry was almost as excited to see him as he was to see Harry.

'me too. night harry x'

Louis immediately froze after pressing send, staring at the ominous 'x' that he hadn't even thought about before typing. He tried to stop himself from getting worked up the way he had last time, but each second seemed like an hour as he waited for the response. 

'Goodnight Louis. xx'

Louis barely prevented his phone from flying across the room and smashing into his wall as he literally fist-pumped and wondered when he'd started getting excited over the number of 'x's in a message. 

Later that night, after a cup of 2-minute noodles and another half-attempt at a study session, Louis fell asleep with his phone clutched in his hand, a small smile lingering on his lips.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two yay!! I'm going away for a week now but the next one should be up as soon as I get back xx
> 
> tumblr: [iliketoship](http://iliketoship.tumblr.com)


	3. Chapter 3

Over the next three days Harry and Louis texted back and forth whenever they had a chance. It reached the point where Hannah began to confiscate his phone when they ate together in an attempt to force him to join the conversation. They talked about everything, often discussing music and bands but also favourite TV shows and movies and sharing stories from their childhood. 

Sometimes Harry would sit with him in the cafeteria as well, but only when he was sure Stan and Hannah weren't around. Louis didn't want to push Harry to spend time with his friends if he didn't want to. Besides, there was a small possessive part of him that wanted to keep Harry to himself, worried that if he started to hang out with all three of them Harry would decide that he liked Stan or Hannah more than Louis. 

On Thursday afternoon Harry messaged him to let him know that his phone would be off for the next few hours while he caught up on his study. He apologised profusely but Louis assured him it was absolutely fine. He did, however, wonder how Harry had the will power to just shut himself off and work for hours non-stop, and he told him as much.

'I'm just in the habit I suppose. I've never had anything to distract me. Plus I guess when you really want to do something you do what you have to to get there.'

Louis stared at his screen for a moment. The first broke his heart, thinking that Harry's never really had friends to spend time with, but it was the second bit that really struck him. 

The thing was, Louis would happily study all day and all night if he thought it would make a difference, but he was sure that no matter how many hours he spent pouring over his books or writing out study cards, it would never make him more comprehending, more intelligent, more capable of being a teacher. 

Harry, on the other hand, was brilliant. Louis had suspected it from the beginning but after a few days of interacting Louis had noticed that although Harry might sometimes need a minute to think over his response before voicing it, when he did, it was with a lot of consideration and often something Louis would never have thought of. 

Even when discussing simple things, like who would win the new season of X Factor, Harry would blow Louis away with his analysis of the contestants and the reasons why they might make it to the finals. The insight Harry provided became a little more prominent each day as he became more comfortable talking to Louis, but it still astounded Louis every time, and occasionally made him worry about what Harry could see in Louis.

His screen flashed with a follow-up message.

'Is that weird?'

Well maybe Harry could't read him that well after all. 

'not at all. its admirable. i wish i could do that :)'

'You can. x'

Louis was unsure how to respond to that so he decided to take the conversation in a different direction. For all the time he and Harry had spent conversing over the last few days they still hadn't really done anything together, and Louis wanted to resolve that, particularly after Harry's earlier confession about a lack of distractions. 

'before you go, do you have any plans for the weekend?'

Louis was pretty sure he chewed off at least half the nail on his pointer finger while he waited for Harry's response, and when it finally came through he was both relieved and disappointed.

'I'm meant to be looking at apartments with mum this weekend. How come?'

Louis wondered whether he should lie, give something vague like 'just wondering' or 'no reason' but then he realised that he should probably be making sure Harry knew he wanted to spend time with him. That was more important than Louis' pride, or whatever it was he was trying to protect.

'i just thought we could hang out or something. but thats fine. youre busy :)'

'Really? I really really wish I could Louis, I'm sorry :( I don't have anything on next weekend, if you have some spare time?'

Before Louis could begin to formulate a reply another text came through.

'Sorry xx'

And there they were again, those two little 'x's that made Louis' stomach flip.

'its seriously ok haz :) next weekend sounds great! always got time for you ;) x' 

It was cheesy, he knew, but at this point Louis had pretty much decided he was pulling out all the stops, all or nothing, go big or go home, and all that.

'I am sorry though. I'd love to do something next weekend.'

'well schedule me in then bc were doing something! now turn your bloody phone off!! shouldnt you be studying? ;)'

'Haha ok Louis. Goodnight xx'

'goodnight harry xx'

The next day Louis had a tutorial at the time that he'd usually eat lunch so by the time the weekend was over it had been three very long days since he'd last seen Harry and for the first time in his life, Monday morning could not come fast enough. 

They'd texted frequently of course. Louis had asked about each apartment that Harry and Anne visited but received the same response for all of them. They were 'nice' but just 'not quite right' for Harry. They all had their positive aspects but Harry managed to find flaws in every single one of them -this one was too cold, that one had too many rooms, the next one wouldn't have room for Harry's desk- which surprised Louis since generally Harry was a very positive person.

On Saturday night Louis had gone to Stan's room, as was their ritual. Usually a bunch of their friends would all head there and play drinking games until they either passed out or got sick of the dingy student room and headed into the city for a pub crawl, but tonight Louis faked a headache to excuse himself from the alcohol and instead allowed himself to be entertained by five intoxicated teenagers. The real reason for Louis' abstinence was less to do with his health and much more to do with an acute fear of what his drunk self would deem an appropriate message to send to Harry.

Apart from himself, Stan and Hannah, the other three participants that night had been Lisa and Maggie, two pretty brunette girls from Hannah's Vet Science course, and Isaac, a 6ft Sports Management student who spent half the night eyeing off Maggie and the other half belting out tunes from the 80s.

There was one unfortunate incident when Stan decided it was time for an update on the Harry situation. It wasn't that Louis was ashamed of spending time with Harry, because Harry was the loveliest person you'd ever meet and anyone would be lucky to spend time with him, but admitting to having a crush on him, on anyone for that matter, was not something Louis really wanted to deal with. His friends would never let him live it down, especially if nothing ever happened between himself and Harry, and leaving himself vulnerable like that was not on his list of things to do in the near future. So Louis just said that he'd befriended Harry (that was true) and that now he was working his charm on the boy (it wasn't really the charm that Stan and the others would be imagining but he did suppose he was attempting at some form of charm so again, technically true).

It was around 2am when heads began to hit pillows so Louis quietly let himself out of Stan's room and made his way back to his own. Fortunately Stan's room was also in Arnott Hall, only one floor above his own, so before long he was back in the warmth of his own bed drifting off to sleep.

Come Monday morning, Louis decided he really didn't have the patience to wait until lunch to catch up with Harry. He knew that Harry had a lecture beginning at 10am so he quickly threw on jeans and a t-shirt, ran his fingers through his hair a few times, then grabbed his wallet and flew out of his room. There was a small coffee shop just around the corner from the halls and it only took him 5 minutes to reach it as he walked briskly along the street. 

By the time he was sitting in front of Westendorf Hall it was twenty five past nine and Louis was just praying that Harry hadn't already left for the morning or he'd look like a fool drinking a cup of tea and a hot chocolate all by himself. He held the two cups close to his body, trying to shield himself from the cold that he hadn't considered when grabbing the t-shirt. It hadn't seemed so bad when he was practically sprinting down the road, but now, sitting down and very exposed to the harsh breeze, Louis was beginning to regret his decision. 

Just when he was about to give up and go crawl back into his warm bed, the door behind him creaked open and he turned to smile warmly -well as warmly as he could with his chattering teeth- at the beautiful boy who was emerging.

Harry was dressed much more practically than Louis in a long grey sweater and black skinny jeans, brown boots on his feet. When he noticed Louis sitting on the steps he stopped, startled, then smiled shyly and walked over to where he was seated.

"What are you doing here?"

Louis held the second cup out to Harry. "I didn't know whether you'd want tea or coffee, but I figured everybody likes hot chocolate."

He took the cup slowly and glanced at Louis. "Thank you. I love hot chocolate, but... what are you doing here?"

"I'm bringing you hot chocolate you idiot! And I'm walking you to class. Come on, lets go!" He jumped to his feet and started off towards the football oval, hearing the scuff of Harry's feet as he shuffled along behind him.

"Just for future reference, tea or coffee?" Louis wrapped his free arm around himself to try and keep some of the warmth in as he took a sip from his drink.

"Tea. Usually tea."

"White?"

"With two sugars, yeah."

Louis nodded, storing that piece of information for later. Harry's arm brushed against his side as they walked and he wasn't sure if it was that or the still prominent breeze that caused his whole body to shiver violently. 

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Just cursing my wardrobe choices. Who'd have thought that at nine thirty on a winter morning the weather would be so- what are you doing?"

Harry had passed Louis his cup and sat down his bag, proceeding to grab the hem of his sweater and drag it over his head, revealing a navy long-sleeve underneath. He took the drink back then held the jumper out to Louis.

"Here."

"I can't take your clothes!" Louis worked hard to sound outraged when all he really wanted to do was croon over Harry and his ridiculous chivalry. 

"Sure you can."

"But what are you going to wear?"

Harry just shrugged. "This top's warm enough."

"I can't-"

"Look Louis. I'm not putting it back on, so if you don't wear it, no one is." 

He grinned mischievously and took a gulp of his hot chocolate, still holding out the grey sweater. For all his uncertainties, Harry could be insanely insistent when it came to giving Louis something.

Louis grumbled something about stupid curls but reluctantly took the sweater and passed Harry his tea, tugging it over his head. It still held some of Harry's heat and Louis fought the urge to smile, instead opting for a pout when he realised the sleeves were at least four inches too long, rolling them up with a huff before grabbing his tea back from a giggling Harry.

"Remind me when I became friends with a giant."

Harry just giggled harder, trying to stifle them with one hand while he reached down with the other to pick up his bag. 

"S'not funny!"

"You're right." Harry reached out and pinched the side of the fabric, pulling it out to emphasise the way Louis was absolutely swimming in it. "It's adorable"

Louis gave an outraged cry and pulled away from Harry's reach, crossing his arms tightly over his stomach, tea resting on his elbow, and stomping off towards the main campus. Harry trailed after him, still giggling at Louis' antics and Louis decided it was maybe his favourite sound in the world. However that didn't stop him from determinedly continuing forward even when Harry began whining behind him.

"Louuuuu! Louiiiiissss!"

He was, however, shocked to a stand-still when two long arms wound around his shoulders and a low voice spoke, close enough to his ear that his breath hitched.

"I'm sorry Louis."

"You should be." He was glad Harry couldn't see his face as he struggled to maintain an indifferent tone.

"You're very manly."

"Much better."

"Am I forgiven?"

"Oh come on!" He turned as Harry dropped his arms so that they were facing each other. "You're going to need more adjectives than that to make up for 'adorable'. Where's your dictionary Styles?"

"Uh, how about... rugged and handsome?"

"Mm much better." He tried not to preen as Harry referred to him as 'handsome'.

"So I'm good now?"

Louis laughed "Yeah you're good Harry. Now come on! We're going to be late for your lecture!"

"Well technically /I'm/ going to be late for my lecture."

They'd been walking for a couple of minutes in a comfortable silence when Harry murmured, "friends."

Louis glanced across at him curiously. "Sorry?"

Harry turned red, looking embarrassed like he hadn't realised he spoke out loud.

"Uh, you uh- you said before that you'd become friends with a giant."

"Yeah?"

"So we're, um- I'm your friend?" he flushed darker as he spoke, letting his hair fall into his face as he looked at the ground, his fingers tapping nervously on his cup.

"Of course you are! I mean, if that's alright with you."

"Yeah, yes, it's more than alright." A smile flitted across his lips but his eyes remained locked on the ground. "I just- I never really had a friend before. I mean aside from my mum, you know."

Louis had guessed that perhaps Harry hadn't had many close friends in the past, simply because of his nervousness around new people and the fact that he'd never mentioned anyone, but to have never have had anyone he could call a friend, someone his own age to talk to and rely on, it broke Louis' heart. He couldn't help himself as he stopped Harry mid-sentence and, for the second time in the past week, hugged his body close to his own. Harry was clearly surprised, but Louis noted happily that it took him much less time to reciprocate the hug than last week. 

"Well everyone else has been missing out, because you're the loveliest person I've ever met, and I'm honoured to be your friend."

Louis knew he was being sappy again but it was the truth, and he felt like Harry needed to hear it. He felt Harry bury his face in his neck but it wasn't until he heard a muffled sniffle that he realised the younger boy was crying.

"Hey now, none of that." Louis felt his motherly side take over as he gently pulled Harry back to look at his face. "What's wrong love?" He used the long sleeves of the borrowed sweater to wipe away the tear tracks on Harry's cheeks. 

"Nothing. I- nothing, I'm sorry. Nothing's wrong, it's perfect." 

"Promise?"

"Promise." He gave Louis a watery but genuine smile, wet, green eyes glistening in the morning sun. 

"You still up for class?"

Harry's eyes widened and he glanced down at his watch.

"Shit! I'm going to be late." 

"If you don't want to go..." Louis certainly had no objections to spending the morning with Harry instead of waiting around for him to finish, but he didn't even finish the sentence before Harry was shaking his head adamantly.

"No. I have to go."

"Well let's get you there on time then." 

"How?"

"You're in the med building right?"

"Yeah..."

Louis just grinned at him before grabbing Harry's hand and starting to run. Having six months of experience with sleeping in and being late for class, Louis was an expert at short-cuts in and around the university, so instead of following the main path into the quadrangle he yanked Harry off to the side and around the back of the performing arts centre. 

Ducking between buildings and through garden beds, they were about halfway there when Louis became acutely aware of Harry's hand, still tightly gripped in his own. Revelling in the sensation, Louis ran even faster, determined to deliver Harry to his lecture on time. Despite his longer legs, Harry's lack of coordination left him struggling to keep up with Louis, and he laughed as he was dragged along behind the shorter boy. 

When they were finally inside the building, they released hands to sprint up the stairs, Harry now taking the lead as he led Louis to the lecture theatre. They reached the end of the corridor and both breathed an audible sigh of relief when they saw that there were still students filing into the room. Harry leant against the wall gulping in air as he struggled to catch his breath, the occasionally giggle escaping his mouth as he grinned at Louis. Louis grinned right back as he leant forward with his hands on his knees, breath ragged from the physical exertion. 

Glancing towards where the last few people were entering the theatre, Harry heaved himself into an upright position and began to make his way over. He stopped after only a few steps, however, and turned back to Louis, striding briskly over to him and throwing his arms around him in a quick squeeze.

"I'll see you at lunch."

Louis nodded in agreement and was about say something but couldn't for the life of him remember what it was when he felt Harry's lips press briefly against his cheek. He simply stood there, open-mouthed, as Harry turned and skipped into class, fortunately not glancing back to see Louis' hand that had subconsciously drifted to press against his face where Harry's mouth had been. 

He was not sure how long he stood there, staring at the closed door, but eventually he managed to tear himself away, making his way out of the building in a daze.

It wasn't until he was sitting outside smiling dumbly at the tree in front of him that he realised he was still wearing Harry's sweater. It was a bit sticky now from the run, but when he buried his face in the collar Louis thought it smelt the same as hugging Harry.

He smiled into the fabric, wrapping his arms around his legs and settling in to wait. He knew he could probably go back to the warmth of his room and kill time there until his lecture that afternoon, but he didn't mind waiting for Harry. As he turned that thought around in his head he realised that it didn't just apply to sitting around for an hour while Harry had class. 

Louis knew that he was attracted to Harry, that was pretty obvious, but it wasn't just that. He was such a genuinely caring and compassionate person, always putting others before himself and Louis didn't think he had ever met anyone like that in his life. Sure, plenty of people were generous and giving, but not in the same way as Harry. Harry took such responsibility in the welfare of others that Louis worried that perhaps he didn't look after himself the way he should. He ate, he slept, he went to university and did his study, but Louis had an inkling that maybe there were a lot of things that Harry wanted to do that he'd never even thought to mention. He remembered the CD that Harry had bought him and his promise to get him something in return and slowly a plan began to form in Louis' mind. 

Grabbing his phone out, Louis began to do a little research. By the time the physio students were filing out of the med building his bank account balance was two hundred dollars lower but Louis had arranged the perfect way for him to spend some quality time with Harry, to pay him back for the CD, and to hopefully give him something he would never give himself. 

Feeling very pleased with the ingenuity of his plan, Louis skipped over to Harry when he emerged from the building and slung an arm around his shoulders.

"So how was the lecture?" He smiled widely at Harry, already anticipate his reaction to Louis' plan, but determined that he would keep it under wraps. He had decided that he wanted to surprise Harry on the day, partially because it would make it more difficult for Harry to protest but mostly just to see Harry's face when he finally revealed his present. 

Harry ignored Louis' question, instead frowning down at him and opting for one of his own.

"What are you still doing here?"

"Well it was hardly worth walking back to Arnott. By the time I got there I'd just have to turn around again."

"But... you didn't need to be here." Louis began leading them towards the cafeteria, his right arm still slung around Harry, albeit slightly awkwardly due to his height.

"Yeah but I wanted to."

"I don't get that." Harry barely whispered the words and Louis just caught them before they were blown away by the wind.

"Don't get what?"

Harry's cheeks darkened. "You hanging around with me. Like um... why?"

"Oi! None of that!" Louis poked Harry in the ribs with his free hand. "I'm here because I want to spend time with you. You're a lovely person and I enjoy your company. That's it." 

"Yeah," Harry breathed softly, cheeks dimpling as he smile at his feet, "I just- I keep expecting someone to jump out and tell me I've been pranked or something, that it's all some big joke."

"Oh I see how it is! I love the amount of trust you place in me!" Louis said jokingly, poking him once again. He tried to ignore the voice in his head telling him that Harry wasn't far from the truth, reminding him of the impression his friends had of his time with Harry.

"No! It's not that, I promise! It's just- you're too perfect, you know?" Both boys blushed simultaneously at that, Louis' arm tightening around Harry's shoulders. He couldn't help but think of his plummeting marks and all the ways in which Harry was wrong.

"I'm really not."

Harry reached his right hand up to grab Louis', tangling their fingers together.

"Yeah, you are." 

He smiled down at Louis who looked back up at him and suddenly all he could think about was how close Harry's bright pink lips were to his, and how much he'd like to close that small distance. His breath caught in his mouth as he imagined how that soft mouth would feel against his own, but before he could psych himself up to make a move the silence was broken by Louis' ringtone, and be Louis would be damned if he had ever hated a sound more in his life.

Grabbing his phone with his free hand he checked the caller ID before bringing it up to his ear.

"Hi Hannah."

"We're eating. You coming?"

"Yeah we'll be there in a sec."

"We?"

They'd reached the cafeteria door so instead of replying Louis just hung up and guided Harry through the mass of hungry youths until they reached their normal table. He noted a few confused glances and became hyper-aware of his arm still draped across Harry's shoulders, quickly moving it down to become a guiding hand on his back.

"Harry, this is Stan," he gestured towards Hannah, "and Hannah," he pointed at Stan. "You guys know Harry Styles right?"

Harry's brow furrowed as he looked between the two before glancing at Louis worriedly, the genuine look of confusion causing Louis to burst into laughter before taking a seat and dragging Harry down next to him.

"I'm Hannah," she reached across the table to shake Harry's hand, "and Louis's a twat."

Harry laughed at that before turning to shake Stan's hand as well.

"So Louis, are you still in for Bekki's on Saturday." Stan cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow, as if daring Louis to say no.

Louis was about to give his confirmation when he remembered his promise to hang out with Harry this weekend. He turned to look at the younger boy and the slight turning-down of the corners of his mouth was enough for Louis to reach a decision.

"Sorry mate. I've already got plans."

Stan scoffed and Hannah looked appalled.

"Oh yeah? With who?" he challenged. 

Louis hesitated for a second before deciding that if it came to it, he could always tell his friends that spending time with Harry was all part of his plan.

"Harry and I are hanging out."

It was Hannah's turn to raise her eyebrows, raising her hand to her mouth in exaggerated shock.

"Louis William Tomlinson! Are you replacing us?!"

Louis rolled his eyes but apparently Harry didn't pick up on Hannah's joke and his eyes widened as he turned to Louis.

"I'm sorry, you don't have to hang out with me Louis. You should go to the party. It's fine, I don't mind."

Before Louis could reassure the boy Stan cut them both off.

"Well I see no reason why you can't both come. I think it's about time Harry gets to know the /real/ Louis Tomlinson." He winked at Louis who ignored him and turned to Harry. 

"Stan's a dickhead, we don't have to go to the party if you don't want to."

Harry furrowed his brow in thought and glanced at Stan, probably trying to decide whether he was joking.

"I think... I would like to go, if that's okay."

Louis couldn't decide whether Harry genuinely wanted to go to the party or whether he just thought that's what Louis wanted to do.

"Are you sure?"

"Um yeah, yeah I'd like to."

Stan clapped his hands. "That settles it then! Harry Styles coming to a party. Who would have thought!"

Louis cringed at Stan's choice of words but Harry was smiling so he guessed it was alright. Now all Louis had to worry about was how to survive this party without making a complete fool of himself in front of Harry. He couldn't remember the last time he was actually /nervous/ about attending a party. He smiled fondly at the boy next to him as he echoed Stan.

"Who would have thought."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this was twice as long as the other chapters sorry about that
> 
> I'm starting uni again on Monday but I'll try to get chapter 4 up within a couple of weeks
> 
> tumblr: [ iliketoship ](http://iliketoship.tumblr.com)


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